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No. 608,854. Patented Aug. 9, |898. L. E. HARPER & c. L. GROHMANN.

BALL BEARING.

(Application led Oct. 28. 1897.\

(No Modem IIIIIH llm- Mtnc nnicn.

LEW'IS E. HARPER AND CARL L. GROIIMANN, OF' HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,l ASSIGNORS TO TIIE PRATT da WHITNEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BALL-BEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'latent No. 608,854, dated August 9, 1898.

Application filed October 28, 1897.

.To if/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Y Beit known that we, LEwIs E; HARPER and CARL L. GROHMANN, citizens of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of I-Iartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ball-Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in ball-bearings; and it has for itsmain object the provision of an improved device of this class in which the balls will be separated from one another in the bearing by means of a ballseparating retaining-ring having a circuit of ball-separatingjfingers projecting outwardly from one face thereof and inwardly toward the center of the ring in such a manner as to form between them ball-sockets which will have a number of points of contact sufficient to hold the balls properly in position without undue friction. j

Another feature of the invention which we consider of special importance is the provision, in connection with a driving shaft or spindle, of a pair of bushings mounted in fixed bearings and forming, with the shaft and with an adj usting-cone thereon, races for two ball-bearings, the adjustment of which and the positioning of the bushings relatively to the shaft will be controlled by the adjusting bearing-cone.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specificatiom'Figure l is a sectional side elevation ofthe live-spindle and adjacent parts of a lathe or similar machine havin g our improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, the section being taken in line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a side view of the ball-separating retaining-ring. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same. Fig. G is a longitudinal section of one of` the bushings for the shaft, and Fig. 7 is a detail of the working end of the live-spindle with the usual chuck thereon.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In the drawings of this application our invention is shown in connection with the livespindle mounted on the head-stock of a lathe, which may be of the usual construction; but

while the improved ball-bearing which for-ms Serial No. 656,677. (No model.)

one of the main features of this invention is especially applicable to machines of this class it may of course beused in connection with the journal-surfaces of other rotary devices or parts. j

In the construction shown, 2 and 2 designate a pair of fixed bearings on the head-stock of a lathe, and 3 indicates the usual live spindle supported by these bearings. The spindle is not carried directly by the bearings 2 and 2', however, but in this instance is mounted for rotation in a pair of bushings--such, for example, as are shown at 4: and i-these bushings having suitable stop-shoi1lde1s;,such as 5 and 5', adapted to bear against the outer cheeks of the bearings 2 and 2', so as to limit the movement ofthe bushingslongitudinally toward eachother. It will be obvious that as thesebushingsare disposed oppositely to each otherthey may be drawn toward each other by suitable adjusting means until their stop-faces 5 and 5 abut against the cheeks of thebearings, `when further movement thereof will be prevented. As a means for obtaining this result we provide, in connection with the live spindle 3, suitable adjusting means, preferably in the form of an adj ustable bearing-cone-such, for, instance, as that illustrated at 6 atthe rear end of the spindle 3- and we also prefer to make use of ball-bearings for the purpose of reducing the friction due to the rotation of the spindle` and to the end thrust thereof.

At its rear end the spindle may be screwthreaded Vat 3" and reduced, as shown at 3', for the" reception of the bearing-cone 6, which will be mounted thereon for the purpose of permitting-it to be adjusted along the spindle 3, and should'have a somewhat long sleeve 6/ mounted on the reduced end 3 of the spindle.

A check-nut-such, for example, as that shown at '-may be employed for preventing the working loose of the bearing-cone 6. The usual driving-pulley P may be mounted on the spindle 3 between the inner ends of the bushings 4 and 4', so as to fill the space between such bushings, this pulley being keyed to the spindle in any suitableman'ner,

For the purpose of properly supporting the parts and reducing the friction, as before stated, we have shown herein ball-bearings at opposite ends of the live spindle, these be- IOO ing formed in this case by ball-races, two of which are shown at 10 and lO in the bushings 4 and 4;', while the other two are formed, respectively, at 12 and l2. The ball-race l2 may be obviously on any suitable part of the spindle 3 or member rotating in unison with such spindle; but in the present case it is formed on the rear end of the chuck-body c. The bearing 12 should obviously be on the adjusting bearing-cone in order that the bearings at opposite ends of the spindle may be tightened or loosened, as desired, to take up wear or to permit the spindle 'to run freely.

As it is generally recognized at the present day that the balls of a ball-bearing turn with less friction when separated from one another in the ball-races, we employ in the present case a novel form of bearing of this type in which the ball-separating retaining-ring has a circuit of ball-separating fingers projecting in two directions from the edge of the ringviz., outwardly from one face of the retaining ring and inwardly toward the center thereof. The ball-separating ring that we employ is clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 and is designated in a general way byR. It comprises as its essential features a relatively thin and preferably fiat ring, such as 20, having a circuit of equidistant ball-separating fingers or lugs, such as 2l. These ball-separating members are of considerable thickness as compared with the thickness of the ring 2O and form between them a plurality of parti-spherical ball-sockets 22, in which the balls 25 are carried. Each ball-separating finger is in the form of a lug substantially triangular diametricaliy of the retainin g-rin g and having an inner oblique face 2l intersecting the inner end wall 21 of such finger. It will be obvious by referring to Figs. 3, 4, and 5 that the ball-sockets and the separating-fingers may be formed by removing portions of a relatively thick internal iiange, the oblique faces 2l being, before the ballsockets are cut in the blank, portions of a continuous beveled annular face forming the inner wall of such internal iiange. It will be noticed also that the ball-separating fingers are disposed substantially at right angles to the relatively hat ring and that the ring and each finger form together a member substantially L-shaped in cross-section.

WVhen the tools are placed in position in the retaining-ring and the parts of the bearing are assembled, it will be evident that the re- 5 5 taining-ring will be entirely clear of the walls of the ball-races and that viewed edgewise, as in Fig. 2, the fiat ring portion 2O of the retaining-ring R will encircle substantially the central flatwise zones of the balls of the bearing. As the bearings at both ends of the live spindle 3 are practically identical in construction, the above description will of course apply equally to both ball bearings illustrated herein.

In order to close the bearings at both ends of the spindle, we make u se of the usual washers or rings 30 and 30', and we may also employ suitable caps-such, for instance, as those shown at 31 and 3l-for covering the bearings at the ends of the live spindle.

Having described our invention, we claiml. ln a ball-bearing, the combination with a bearing member and with a rotary member, of a ball-separating retainingring having ball-separating lingers projecting outwardly from one end thereof and inwardly relatively to the inner face of said ring, and having ball-sockets between said ball-separating fingers, and a plurality of balls seated in said sockets.

2. A ball-separating retaining-rin g having a plurality of ball-separating fingers projecting outwardly from one end thereof and inwardly relatively to the inner face of said ring, and having ball-sockets between said ball-separating fingers.

3. The combination, with a pair of fixed bearings, forming at their outer ends stops for bushings of oppositely-disposed bushings in said bearings, said bushings having stopshoulders for limiting their movementsto- Ward each other, and also having ball-races; a shaft journaled in said bushings and having a ball-race cooperative with the ball-race of one of said bushings; an adjustable bearing-cone on the shaft and coperative with the ball-race of the other bushing and controlling the positions of the shaft and the bushings; and balls for said ball-races.

LEX/VIS E. HARPER. CARL L. GROHMANN.

Witnesses:

RICHD. F. Dow, HENRY BIssELL. 

